This bill adds a new section to chapter 82.01 RCW that requires the director of the Department of Revenue to designate Washington's participation in the federal tax credit program created by section 70411 of H.R. 1 (P.L. 119-21), to renew that participation annually, to ensure the state meets all program participation obligations, and to provide timely notice of participation to the applicable federal entity or official. The director must initially notify the federal entity by April 1, 2026, and provide annual notifications thereafter. Copies of the notice must be transmitted to the governor, the appropriate legislative committees, the superintendent of public instruction, and the chair of the state board of education. The bill directs that rules adopted under the new section and RCW 82.01.060(2) be drafted and applied to facilitate maximum implementation and optimization of the available federal tax credits, but also makes any part of the act inoperative to the extent it conflicts with federal requirements that are conditions for receiving federal funds. The act is declared an emergency and takes effect immediately. The text creates a new statutory requirement and procedural duties for the Department of Revenue and requires related rulemaking; it does not create a new criminal offense or change penalties. Important details are not included in the provided text: the contents of section 70411 of P.L. 119-21, the specific state obligations under that federal provision, definitions of terms such as "applicable federal entity or official," "appropriate committees of the legislature," and "scholarship granting organizations," and any fiscal or administrative implementation specifics.

If enacted, Washington will opt in to a new federal tax credit program and the Department of Revenue will need to annually confirm the state's participation, write rules aimed at maximizing the available federal tax credits, and send notices to federal authorities and state leaders by April 1, 2026 and each year after. Practically, that creates ongoing administrative work at the Department of Revenue and formalizes a channel that could steer private donor money toward scholarship granting organizations that qualify under the federal program, potentially increasing their funding opportunities. The main parties affected are the Department of Revenue (new notification, rulemaking and compliance duties), scholarship granting organizations (more likely to receive donor contributions because of the tax credit incentive), and state leaders who will receive the notices. The bill may raise staffing or compliance costs at the Revenue department and creates a risk that parts of the effort could be limited or overridden if they conflict with federal conditions for receiving funds. Key details about the federal program’s requirements, what exactly the state must do to qualify, and any fiscal impacts are not provided in the extracted text, so the scope of administrative costs and the size of any change in scholarship funding are uncertain.